Steam
by bcain17
Summary: "There's been an incident, Fire Lord." "What has she done now?" A series of Zutara one-shots.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A series of Zutara one-shots. Requests for more specific one shots can be made in the comments :)

Disclaimer: ATLA is owned by Viacom and Nickelodeon. No profit will be made from this story.

Fire Lord Zuko raised his head as someone knocked frantically on his office door. His brow creased as he ignored the summons, knowing he had specifically asked not to be disturbed this afternoon. Sighing as the knocking continued, Zuko answered, "Enter."

Ty Lee nervously entered his office with a sheepish look on her face. "I apologize, Fire Lord. I know you had asked not to be disturbed but something occurred during the Fire Lady's weekly tea time that you need to be made aware of…" Ty Lee trailed off as she saw the look on the Fire Lord's face.

Pinching the space between his golden eyes, Zuko asked, "What did she do this time?"

Hurrying down the passageway, Zuko tried to control the emotions crossing his face. It would do no good to yell at her. He would calmly ask what had happened and what she intended to do about it to restore order amongst the wives of the nobles. This wasn't the first time an incident had occurred when he wasn't there to control his wife but this was by far the worst incident. He only hoped that Minister Ling wouldn't resign his position as a trusted advisor due to the affront on his wife today.

Pausing outside the doors of the Fire Lady's chamber, Zuko took a deep breath before knocking twice on the door. When he didn't hear a summons to enter, he knocked again. Still no answer.

So she was going to ignore his because she knew she was at fault and didn't want to deal with the consequences of her actions. That wasn't going to fly this time.

He slowly pushed open the ornate door.

His wife was laying on her side in the middle of the bed.

Zuko slowly approached the bed, trying not to make any noise. He paused as he reached the side of the bed to gaze down at his sleeping wife. He could see the tear stains on her face and his anger slowly dissipated.

He sat down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Katara."

She stirred but didn't wake up, her hand coming to rest on the slightly protruding bump where their child was growing. Placing his hand over hers, he kicked off his boots and decided to crawl into bed with his wife. It had been a long day and he had no desire to wake her up to fight. She had a hard enough time sleeping as it was with it being the hottest months of the year and her being 6 months pregnant.

It didn't take long for the Fire Lord to drift off to sleep.

Only to be woken up 20 minutes later by his wife huffing and pushing him away.

"Zuko, move over," Katara murmured in her sleep, not quite fully awake.

He smirked and pulled her closer.

She opened one eye to look up at him. "Husband, you are roasting me alive. Move over."

"No," Zuko growled, moving slightly to place a kiss on her neck, "not until you tell me what happened during tea today."

Katara's other eye opened slightly, "Ty Lee told you?"

Zuko smirked, "Yes, but to her credit she did wait an hour before coming to inform me. I think she knew you needed time to cool off before dealing with me."

Turning over to face him, Katara murmured, "At least she waited an hour this time."

Zuko smiled slightly as he remembered Katara's misadventures from the past year. The court had just gotten used to Mai when suddenly they had a new Fire Lady to deal with, one who did not know the customs of the court and who wasn't a passive observer in front of the ladies.

Katara was everything Mai was not.

He was pulled from his musing by Katara rubbing her hand over her belly. With a small sigh, she told her story.

"To start, you should know that it really wasn't my fault."

Zuko looked down at her, "I don't think Lady Ming would agree with that statement."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Well Lady Ming is a cow."

"Katara," Zuko growled slightly. He didn't take kindly to her petty name calling.

Rolling over so she was facing away from him, she continued her story, "Well, the baby was bouncing around, kicking and I swear he was firebending in there because different parts of my insides would suddenly feel like they were on fire. So you can see why I wasn't in the most gracious mood during tea today but I started off trying to emulate Mai and be the perfect Fire Lady."

Zuko winced slightly at the mention of his ex-wife's name but didn't say anything. So Katara continued, "I was doing a great job until Lady Ming walked in late. Since she was late, her regular spot at the table had been taken by Lady Li-Sang so Lady Ming decided that it was all my fault and started making disparaging comments to the ladies sitting around her about Lady Li-Sang and myself. Which I ignored for the longest time, Zuko. Ty Lee can attest to that but I when it got to be too much for me to ignore, I dismissed myself from the table to go to the bathroom and calm down. Well Lady Ming decided to follow me into the bathroom and I tried to ignore her, Zu, I truly did but then she said something that I couldn't ignore."

Katara turned back toward him with tears shimmering in her eyes, "Zu, she said that our baby was a half-breed and would never be accepted as the rightful heir to the Fire Throne."

Zuko sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. Ty Lee had told him the outcome of events but obviously left out the main reason why it had occurred.

"So," Katara continued, "while I stood there in shock that a Lady of the court would say something so ugly to Fire Lady's face, she decided to use the restroom like nothing had happened. And I…"

Zuko rubbed an encouraging hand over her back.

"Well, I froze her to the toilet and came back here."

This is what TyLee had told him. That there had been an altercation between the Fire Lady and Lady Ming and that Lady Ming had ended frozen to the toilet. Fire bender guards had been summoned to slowly thaw her from the toilet seat so she wouldn't rip anything vital as she tried to remove herself from the seat. It had been an arduous process and one that was humiliating for Lady Ming.

Zuko pulled Katara close and just held her with his head resting lightly on top of her brown curls.

They stayed like that for a long time before Katara asked, "Are you going to say anything?"

"Kat," he said, breathing in the exotic scent of her hair, "our child was made out of love and based on what you've said, will be a powerful bender. I know the transition from Mai to you has been difficult and the court is not pleased but you must know that the people of the Fire Nation adore you. They will without a doubt, accept our child as the rightful heir and anyone in the court that has an issue with that will be replaced, immediately."

Katara sniffled and wiped her tears on his tunic, "Do you mean that, Zu?"

"Mhmm," he hummed, "starting with the Mings."

Katara sat up quickly, well as quickly as her belly would allow, "Oh no, Zuko, you can't do that!"

"Katara, his wife said my child was going to be a half-breed. I do not take insults like that lightly."

She reached out to touch his arm, "Is it possible to just get rid of her and not him? I know how you value his views on the economy and he would be very hard to replace."

Breathing deeply, trying control his inner fire that demand the Mings be thrown out of the palace immediately. He knew she was right but he wasn't ready to let them off that quickly.

"You are very wise, Kat, I thank you for your insight."

"Wow, Fire Lord. Remember our deal? When we are in bed, you treat me like Katara, your friend for over 12 years, not the Fire Lady."

"Ah, yes. Sorry, love," Zuko smiled slightly, leaning down to kiss her lips.

Katara smirked back at him. When had she become so good at his signature smirk?

"Now, Fire Lord Zuko, move over."

With a deft push and a slight kick, she sent him tumbling over the side of the bed and onto the floor. Then she leaned down to smile at him.

"Why Fire Lord, you look good bowing before me."

"Why you little water peasant," and with a lunge, he leapt off the floor and was on top of her, showering her with small kisses and tickling her sides. Needless to say, it was a while before he resumed his work in the office but when he did, he began to write a note:

Dear Minister Ming,

Our wives had a confrontation today which stemmed from your wife referring to the future Fire Lord as a half-breed. Needless to say, she will not be invited back to court. The Fire Lady will issue a written apology for freezing your wife to a commode. During social functions that involve both the Lords and Ladies of Court, she may attend but if she says one word against the Fire Lady, you shall both be removed from court.

Sincerely,

Fire Lord Zuko

The howl that could be heard from the Ming house woke up all of their neighbors when the note was delivered an ecstatic Ty Lee reported back the Fire Lord the following morning.

Authors Note: Hello Zutara fans! This is my first dip into the Zutara fandom after being an avid reader of so very many stories. These are going to be somewhat random one-shots based on the background I've created and will share with you. If you have constructive criticism or something positive to say, please leave a comment. If you have something you would like to see in a one-shot, please leave the scenario in a comment.


	2. Chapter 2

This one is definitely rated T for implied sexual situations, nothing graphic.

Disclaimer: ATLA is owned by Viacom and Nickelodeon. No profit will be made from this story.

 **Three years ago...**

Katara watched as Mai helped Zuko into his coronation robes. He looked so happy to see her but when they kissed, she felt a little part of her heart harden into ice. Whatever feelings she might have had for Zuko had to disappear. He belonged with Mai who would be the perfect Fire Lady and she knew that Aang loved her. Turning around, as to not disturb the kissing couple, Katara made her way out of the Fire Palace.

 **Present Time …**

The Fire Nation bustled with excitement. Tomorrow was the Fire Lord's engagement party and guests from all around the world, including the Avatar would be coming into the capital city. The palace had worked hard to clean up and rebuild the city and everything looked perfect.

Zuko on the balcony of his bedroom looking out over his country with a slight smile on his face. Tomorrow he and Mai would be celebratning their engagement and in three months, they would be married. After three long years of securing his reign, righting the wrongs of his father and finding a cabinet that was loyal to him had taken most of the energy out of the Fire Lord and he was more than ready to move onto this next stage in his life. He loved Mai. He had always loved Mai but even now, there was slight stirring in his heart; more of a what if than a stirring. What if things had ended differently? What if she had been the one to help him into his robes?

But Zuko was a realist and knew that he couldn't go down the trail of the what if. It would only bring him strife and heartache.

As he stood musing, taking in the setting sun, there was a knock at his door.

"Enter," he called out.

The door opened and Zuko immediately knew it wasn't a servant. He could smell the sweet scent of the ocean as she walked through the room to join him near the balcony.

A hand came up to touch his shoulder and he turned around to face the woman who had just been occupying his thoughts.

"Katara."

"Zuko."

"Hi."

"Hello." And with that awkward exchange over, she pulled him into a tight hug. He pulled back with a smile.

"It's been a long time since you've been back to the Fire Palace," Zuko said, leading her over to a set of chairs on the balcony.

"Mmm," Katara hummed. She hadn't been back since his coronation. Sure they had seen each other at different events over the years but she had never been able to come back here after the day of Sozin's comet.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

She turned and directed her blue eyes toward him. "I couldn't miss your engagement party. After all, it's going to be the shindig of the year, well at least until your wedding."

He continued to gaze at her, replying, "But you RSVP'd saying that you weren't going to make it for the engagement party, only the wedding so I repeat: why are you here, Katara?"

She turned her eyes away from him, looking into the setting sun. After a minute, she responded, "Aang and I called it quits about two months ago."

Zuko had known this because Sokka had arrived with a very inebriated Aang in tow about a week after the break and dropped the heartbroken Avatar at his literal doorstep, saying, "He's your problem now, Fire Lord."

 _Aang had confessed that things hadn't been great with Katara for some time. He knew she was unhappy with the nomad life and travelling all the time, never putting down roots but selfishly, he hadn't wanted to let her go and had guilt tripped her into one last trip to the Southern Air Temples where he had set up a home for them. He had promised to travel less and only when people really needed him and for awhile, she had been happy there. But as they lived together, Aang began to notice that Katara still tended to treat him as a child, doing everything for him and trying to protect him from making a mistake. Aang had never really known his mother but he would have guessed that she would probably treat him like Katara was treating him now. When he confronted her about it, the resulting blow up had knocked down two different sections of the air temple and Katara had left. Leading to him calling Sokka and going on a week long bender leading up to Sokka leaving him at the door of the Fire Palace._

Zuko stayed quiet, unsure what to say. Comforting upset girls had never been his strong suit.

She smiled a watery smile at him, "It's okay. I know he was here for awhile afterwards. I went home and devoted all of my time to developing the waterbenders at the Southern Water Tribe. When I got the invitation to your engagement party, I RSVP'd 'no' because I didn't want to have an awkward run in with him but after his week here with you, he came to visit and we straightened some things out."

Again, Zuko already knew this. He had convinced Aang that he couldn't just leave the relationship like that. He had to talk with Katara. During their talk, Katara revealed that her feelings for Aang had never developed beyond the crush stage and that while she loved him, she wasn't in love with him. Heartbroken, Aang had admitted the monogamy wasn't the Air Nomad way and that he had tried so hard to make it work, knowing that a happy ending wasn't in the books for them.

Zuko knew all of this because the Avatar had sent him a letter describing the events with a confusing postscript at the bottom: _She's yours now_.

Not knowing how to decrypt that message, and fearing what it might mean, Zuko had renewed his relationship with Mai and had proposed. Mai accepted his proposal with a shrug and said, "Sure. I don't have anything better to do."

Zuko decided he would embellish her reaction to his proposal.

Katara's warm hand touching his slightly pulled him from his thoughts.

She looked him straight in the eye when she said, "Zuko, I won't be at your party tomorrow but I have one thing to tell you. I tried and tried to push my feelings aside for three years but I knew that tomorrow I would lose my chance to tell you forever and I know you are probably going to hate me but I just have to say this to you once; Zuko, I love you."

He stared.

His mouth might have dropped open.

Literally, bugs could be flying into his open mouth and he wouldn't have noticed.

"What?!" He squawked..

She smiled wryly at him, "When you jumped in front of Azula and took the lightning for me, I realized that I never wanted to lost you. And I seriously wanted to kiss you. I was going to tell you about how I felt right before your coronation but then I saw you with Mai. You looked so happy to see her. The kiss you gave her made me realize that I was never going to be the right person for you, that I was not cut out to be the Fire Lady. That you needed someone like Mai, who knows the ins and the outs of court by your side. So I left."

Rubbing his hands over his face, Zuko asked, "And why are you telling me this now, Katara? Do you expect me to dump Mai for you? Tomorrow's the engagement party for Agni's sake!"

He hadn't meant to be mean but she had just confessed to loving him. The "what if" he had been focusing on earlier was quickly becoming a possible reality.

A tear ran down her cheek as she said, "I don't expect anything from you, Zuko. I know you love Mai and I know that you are happy and I know that we can never-"

She was cut off as Zuko lunged towards her, his lips closing over hers. Recovering from the shock of his sudden movement, she began to kiss him back urgently, loving the feel of his warm hands on her back and tangled into her long brown hair.

Zuko wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but it eventually dawned on him that they were outside where anyone, including his fiancee, could see them. Drawing back from the kiss, he stared into her eyes and only saw love for him, no regret. Standing up, he pulled her up from her chair and led her inside to his bedchamber.

Neither noticed the frozen figure that had been standing just inside his chamber doors who quickly left, shutting the doors behind them.

The next morning, Zuko woke up feeling more rested than he had felt in months. He reached over to tell his companion good morning but the sheets were cold. Pushing himself up, he looked all around the chamber but her clothes were gone and she was nowhere to be found. Laying on her pillow was a note:

 _My dearest Zuko,_

 _Thank you for last night. When I came to tell you, I expected to be turned away. I know that you don't love me and I didn't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation with Mai so I left. She's good for you, Zuko. Much better than I could ever be. Love her well._

 _-Katara_

Howling with frustration, Zuko sprang up from the bed, put on his robe and went to inform the guards that they needed to detain Lady Katara; only to be told that she had already left on the first ship out of port this morning.

An anger Zuko hadn't felt in years swelled up inside of him and before he knew what he was doing, he had lit the bed on fire. He would never be able to share it with Mai because it would always be a reminder of Katara. He had been right. What ifs only led to heartbreak.

Mai never said anything about the changing of the bed.

Three months later, Katara was standing beside her brother, Toph and Aang as they watched Zuko and Mai become husband and wife, Firelord and Fire Lady. While she didn't regret her decision, she once again felt her heart close and silently vowed to never step foot in the Fire Nation again. When Fire Lord Zuko and his new wife turned to face their waiting audience, Katara noticed the look of triumph on Mai's face that shot her way, and Katara knew that Mai knew.

 **AN: Here's another part of the saga of Katara and Zuko. Another update will probably be up tomorrow from Mai's point of view. Remember to leave a comment in a review if you'd like to see anything specific in a one-shot. Thank you for the reviews and follows!**


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